By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets edged higher Wednesday, continuing to rebound after recent losses caused by the Ukraine war and the associated inflation concerns.
By 4:50 AM ET (0850 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 0.4% higher, the CAC 40 in France traded up 0.4%, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5%.
European indices are following the global trend higher, with a positive close on Wall Street late Tuesday and Asian shares following suit overnight. Cash is returning to the beaten-up equity markets, largely from the bond markets as investors braced for central banks, and the U.S. Federal Reserve, in particular, to take aggressive approaches to taming inflation.
That said, these gains remain tentative as the war in Ukraine rages on, with Russian air strikes continuing to pound the besieged port city of Mariupol in the south of the country.
Investors are looking forward to the arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden for talks with NATO and European leaders in Brussels, starting later in the session, amid expectations for more sanctions on Moscow in retaliation for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and moves to tighten existing measures.
Elsewhere, U.K. consumer prices rose 0.8% on the month in February, soaring 6.2% on the year, the fastest rate in 30 years. This will put further pressure on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help his citizens suffering a cost of living crisis in his Spring Statement to Parliament.
In the corporate sector, automakers were among the top gainers, with Automotive Cells Company, a joint venture between Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), Mercedes Benz (DE:MBGn) and TotalEnergies (PA:TTEF), announcing plans to build a battery plant in Italy.
The battery plant would be the third in Europe for Stellantis, after ones already announced in France and Germany, which are also being built through ACC.
TotalEnergies stock rose 0.1% after the French energy company’s CEO Patrick Pouyanné said that its decision to quit Russian oil supply contracts does not put the overall future of the company at risk.
Oil prices edged higher Wednesday after industry data pointed to another drop in U.S. crude inventories, increasing concerns about the tight nature of the global market.
Tuesday’s numbers from the American Petroleum Institute showed crude stocks in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, fell by 4.3 million barrels last week, confounding expectations for a small increase.
The official government data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later in the session.
By 4:50 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.9% higher at $110.25 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 1.1% to $116.75.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,923.60/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.1016.